Articles

Key Points Menthol and flavoured cigarettes are widely available in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) many of which have high smoking rates LMICs have young populations – flavours appeal to young people, who may not understand the harms of flavoured tobacco Recently high-income countries have put bans in place; at the same time there has been marked growth of menthol…

In February 2019, Imperial Brands funded and promoted a European Union (EU) Commission’s Citizens Initiative campaign, called “Let’s demand smarter vaping regulation!” 51 This aimed to revoke Article 20 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), which relates to the regulation of e-cigarettes (also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS).52 Background The European…

Tobacco company terminology changes with developments in products, shifts in business strategy and new marketing tactics. As new products become available, the language used by public health organisations and governments also changes, in order to describe, categorise and regulate these products. The language used by advocates and researchers may vary widely, which can be confusing for those working within the…

Key Points PMI sponsors so-called “smoke-free” policies at holiday destinations which appear to encourage tourists and locals to stop smoking cigarettes, while heavily promoting its heated tobacco product IQOS. This circumvents regulations on industry involvement in policy development and the advertising of tobacco products Background As part of its claimed movement towards a “smoke-free future”, Philip Morris International…

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region (AFRO) covers 47 countries.140 Of these, 44 countries 141 are Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 20 countries have ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.142 Smoking in AFRO Region Smoking prevalence in the AFRO region remains the lowest among all WHO regions…

Kwasi Kwarteng was appointed Secretary of State at the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on 8 January 2021.161 Links to British American Tobacco (BAT) All Party Parliamentary Groups In 2015, Kwarteng was on the All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Governance Group. One of the funders to the APPG was BAT, which donated £5,000.162 Hospitality In 2018,…

Key points The EU menthol ban came into force in May 2020. Tobacco companies exploited weaknesses in the ban: the focus on characterising flavours rather than flavour ingredients; product exemptions; and a long phase-in period. Prior to the ban menthol use was highest in England and Poland. Menthol had an estimated 20% of the UK cigarette market, in which Imperial…

Tobacco companies used harm reduction as a strategy to achieve their business objectives. In advance of the menthol ban in the UK, they promoted their newer nicotine and tobacco products: heated tobacco products (HTPs), e-cigarettes (electronic nicotine delivery systems, ENDS) and nicotine pouches. For more background, and other types of interference in the run up…

Clean Up Britain (CLUB) is a British non-for-profit organisation that uses behavioural interventions to reduce littering. CLUB has entered two partnerships with Philip Morris International (PMI) between 2019 and 2021 to create public campaigns against smoking-related littering. Relationship with the Tobacco Industry Research into portable ashtrays in partnership with PMI Between 2019 and 2020, Clean Up Britain carried out a…

Key Points Despite decades of denial, the tobacco industry has long known about the addictiveness of cigarettes. Tobacco companies manipulated the addictiveness of cigarettes via changes in content and design to attract and retain smokers. As a consequence, smokers today are at a greater risk of disease than smokers in the 1960’s, despite smoking fewer cigarettes. Greater implementation of…